I only ask because if he’s gone from the earth, then the rapture probably did happen and I missed it.

Unless you were living under a rock in the land of Fraggle, you were witness to yet another failed prediction of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (which some people lovingly call ‘The End of the World’). Harold Camping, an 80-year-old radio broadcaster, made his second failed rapture prediction, the first coming in September 1994. In all of his study and calculations, Camping seems to have missed a rather crucial biblical text concerning Christ’s return–and it’s hard to believe he missed it since it was on this billboard.

Jesus was pretty clear that nobody knows or can predict when He will return–not even Jesus. But here is what we can know:

1 Thessalonians 4.16-18  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Jesus’ return is going to be very loud. The imagined scenes of loved ones just disappearing in the “rapture” and the world not knowing what happened to them is just false. It makes for a great movie or  book series though. The return of Jesus will be filled with loud sounds. The return of Jesus will also be sudden, unpredictable. The gospels say he’ll come like a thief in the night. Thieves don’t ring doorbells or call ahead. The return of Jesus will be satisfying for those who believe. We will ALWAYS be with the Lord. No more feelings of separation or isolation. We will exist together, with the Lord, in perfect community.

That’s why we can encourage one another with these words. The return of Jesus will be loud and sudden, but his return will ultimately be satisfying.